Abstract

Poverty is positively associated with poor health; thus, some healthcare
commissioners in the UK have pioneered the introduction of advice services
in health service locations. Previous systematic reviews have found
little direct evidence for a causal relationship between the provision of
advice and physical health and limited evidence for mental health
improvement. This paper reports a study using a broader range of types
of research evidence to construct a conceptual (logic) model of the wider
evidence underpinning potential (rather than only proven) causal pathways
between the provision of advice services and improvements in
health. Data and discussion from 87 documents were used to construct a
model describing interventions, primary outcomes, secondary and tertiary
outcomes following advice interventions. The model portrays complex
causal pathways between the intervention and various health
outcomes; it also indicates the level of evidence for each pathway. It can
be used to inform the development of research designed to evaluate the
pathways between interventions and health outcomes, which will determine
the impact on health outcomes and may explain inconsistencies in
previous research findings. It may also be useful to commissioners and
practitioners in making decisions regarding development and commissioning
of advice services.
Keywords: health inequalities, logic model, poverty, primary care, social
determinants of health, welfare benefits

Item Type:

Article

Additional Information:

This is published Open Access - this version is Early View - an online version published before inclusion in an issue

Research Institute, Centre or Group - Does NOT include content added after October 2018: